GARDENERS' CHRONICLE 



OF AMERICA 



THE OFFICIAL ORGAN OF 

 THE NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF GARDENERS 



Devoted to the Science of rioriculture and Horticulture. 



THE AMERICAN ASSOCIATION OF PARK SUPERINTENDENTS. 



Devoted to Park Development ani Recreational Facilities. 



Vol. XIX. 



OCTOBER, \'n:-< 



No. 10. 



Things and Thoughts of the Garden 



By The Onlooker. 



Some of the finest of all the annuals of the garden 

 are of the western parts of our own land, notably 

 California and the Northwest Pacific region. Of 

 course, California covers an enormous area, with an 

 almost variety of climates, but in the foot-hills along 

 much of the coast the sight of far-stretching acres of 

 Msclischoltzias, I'latystemons, Neniophias, Collinsias, 

 Linmanthes, Lupines, Clarkias, Coreopsis, Mimulus, 

 (iodetia. Cilia and similar other things which are na- 

 tive there, is one of the joys of Califnrnia in March 

 and Ajjril. 



The questiim 1 wish to intrnduce is. How many cif 

 these are hardy enough to come through oiu" Eastern 

 winters? Occasionally one comes on a jjatch of some 

 annual that has passed through the hardest frosts, and 

 in those cases the plants are of the utmost vigor. 

 The foreman of the Bronx Botanical Garden, New 

 York, was surprised to see lots of Summer Cypress 

 (Kochia tricophylla) coming up last spring in a place 

 where he had not recently sown seeds of it. The ex- 

 lilanaticm was that this Kochia had grown there the 

 ]>revious year. Senile years ago I had a surprise in 

 finding Tobaccos coming up strongly in the same spot 

 in which they had flowered the last summer. In this 

 case, however, these were not from seeds but were 

 stems from the thickened, fleshy roots. Under favor- 

 able conditions the Tobacco or Nicotiana carries over, 

 although just how long it will continue I do nt)t know. 

 Has any one tested this? W'itli our late sjiring and 

 early summer so often hut, the hardy annuals don't 

 always have the best chance, and now that the autumn 

 is here again, why not make a ijractical test of a few 

 kinds at least. The trials superintendents mi some of 

 the larger seed grounds might enlighten us, if they 

 would, upon the merits and relative hardiness of many 

 of these annuals. Much depends on the early winter 

 season in regard to how these seedlings will behave 

 and on the amount of protection given. Sweet Peas, 

 for instance, which will frequently ccnne through the 

 hardest weather, are killed if the December is so o])en 

 that growth continues. On the other hand, if there is 

 sufficient frost to check top-growth, all may be well ; 

 the roots don't stop. This makes for the safety of the 

 plants in the following June and July, when they re- 

 main satisfactory even in dry times. Wherever 

 autumn sown annuals do succeed in passing through 

 December, January, February they assuredly make 

 bigger plants, provided always that they are not too 

 thickly in the ground. One other point in favor of fall 



sowing is that slugs or snails find plenty of other food 



at this time, whereas in S]jring the ground is bare of 



nearly all except the tiny garden seedlings. 

 * ' * * 



Speaking of annuals firings to niiml the fact that 

 there is a perennial that is better treated as a biennial, 

 namely Coreopsis grandiflora, one of the most useful 

 of border subjects. Treating it in this way maintains 

 the stock in fullest vigor. 



* :!: * 



-\ paragraph in the Xatioiial X iirscryiiiaii last 

 month called attention to Senecio clivorum. The plant 

 is, to my mind, one of the handsomest that Mr. Wilson 

 was instrumental in introducing from Western China. 

 But why should the merits of these things be so long 

 in becoming widely known ? For several j-ears — 1 do 

 not remember just how many — this seiiii-ac|uatic or 

 bog plant has Ix'en making golden patches in inair.' 

 English, Dutch and other European gardens and 

 nurseries, yet here we have the American Xatioiial 

 X inSiTcviinni treating its readers to a full description 

 of it. Possibly i_)ur Boston confreres, who appear to 

 be miles ahead of most of the rest of the country in 

 matters hortulan (and I can give them that credit 

 gracefully, since 1 am not one of them) know all about 

 Senecio clivorum, and let us hope that so good a sub- 

 ject will make greater headway now. It does splen- 

 didly if planted in colonies at the edge of a pond or 

 stream or lake. Let the planting be so that you can 

 see it, yes, and at half a mile away. I'uny h)ts are not 

 efifective. It is not a lit subject for the ordinary hardy 

 l)order, being too vigorous, some might say coarse. 

 The leaves are as large as those of garden Rhnb.arb, 

 and a strong jjlant wants as inuch room as an ordinary 

 dining table. One of the healthiest patches I have 

 seen was on a niade-u]> island in a lake. Here the 

 Senecio had a good depth of strong, rich soil and 

 found abundance of moisture underneath. 



It would seem as though Holland bulbs may be 

 somewhat late in arriving this year, at least the last of 

 them. Hut there need be no actual anxiety in that 

 score. Ex]3erinients have shown that Tulips, Narcis- 

 sus, Crocuses, and possibly some other kinds can be 

 planted well into the New Year and still give fairh' 

 satisfactory results. A number of years ago one of 

 the largest London houses planted Crosuses on the 

 twelfth of January and succeeded in getting fine flowers 

 in .Xjiril and Ma\-. Tlie same firm tested Narcissi with 



